-
(L-R:) Georgia Writers Museum’s Chip Bell, Paula Benjamin, Melissa Swindell and Lou Benjamin are ready to take on a major renovation project that will catapult the Eatonton arts mainstay into a must-see – and experience – attraction. (IAN TOCHER/Staff)
The doors are closed right now at Eatonton’s favorite free attraction, the Georgia Writers Museum (GWM) and its accompanying bookstore on South Jefferson Avenue, just up the street from the historic Pex Theater and across the road from the iconic Putnam County courthouse.
Sylvia’s Coffee remains open right next door to GWM, providing a perfect gathering place to learn about the extensive renovations that are about to happen there.
“The idea is to make the museum come to life so that we’re telling the stories of the people who wrote the works rather than just telling about the literary works,” GWM Executive Director Melissa Swindell said over a hot cup of joe. “To do that, we want to be able to bring the voices of the authors into the space as much as possible and have them interact with our guests. We do have recordings of some who have passed, and there definitely will be photographs and the kind of visuals that will draw you in to then learn more about their stories, too.”
To accomplish that, GWM will decidedly march into new territory.
Where once there were author headshots with brief bios written below, holograms, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and interactive displays will take their places.
“If you think about the VR world and the ability to transport yourself someplace, it could mean so much more,” GWM President and cofounder Lou Benjamin suggested. “So, what if we had a VR experience where you could be in Steven’s kitchen, where Alice Walker was in Mississippi? What if you could talk to a hologram because they’ve now married Siri technology with artificial intelligence?”
Benjamin recognizes it’s a drastically different vision from when he helped create the original (and current) GWM space in 2014, before purchasing the GWM building in 2019, along with the two storefronts next door that now house Sylvia’s and a women’s clothing store.
Chip Bell, an avowed “museum freak” who handles most of the museum’s public relations efforts for its many author presentations and writing-related programs, also came on board about that time and continues as a board member.
GWM started as a very static attraction, with literally just photos, descriptions, and a few sample books and artifacts of the era, not even necessarily attached to featured authors. It eventually expanded to include more personalized items and curiosities but remained largely a walk-and-read experience for several years.
“You could come in here and read for six or eight hours, but once you did, you’d probably never come back,” Benjamin said.
And then the arrival of Swindell – a trained museum specialist who began her career at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History before serving as director of historic resources and educational programs at Heritage Sandy Springs and later as executive director of The Wren’s Nest, legendary author Joel Chandler Harris’ home in Atlanta – was a game changer for GWM, Benjamin said.
“Between Melissa and Chip, they made this,” Benjamin stated as he looked around what now is an empty shell but just one week ago was welcoming daily guests. “They took my vision and then took the museum from a two to a five or a six (out of 10). It got way better and things were off the walls and it had better stories. And what we’re doing now is we’re going to take that five or six and take it to a nine or 10. We’re going to have way more interactivity, way more technology, way more ‘Wow!’ factor in terms of the physical space. It will appeal much more to more modern sensibilities.”
Significantly, among GWM’s initial board members was Stewart Rodeheaver, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and now owner and president of ViziTech USA, a leading digital education and training company that specializes in interactive 3D Technology, augmented reality, and virtual reality learning and training programs, based just down the street from GWM in a nondescript Eatonton storefront.
Rodeheaver’s role will be instrumental in transforming GWM from a place for what Bell called “streakers,” who essentially just walk through exhibits, rarely or never read anything, then move along knowing they’ve “seen” the museum. Think of Chevy Chase looking over the Grand Canyon while on his way to Wally World. That guy.
On the other hand, there are the “studies,” those who read everything, look at every artifact, and attempt to absorb all information in one sitting. That’s the kind of visitor the original GWM attracted, but now Benjamin, Bell, and Swindell want to promote more strollers, and maybe turn some of the streakers into strollers as well.
For now, though, the transformation of GWM has begun due to a sizable grant recently received from the Georgia Council for the Arts for infrastructure improvements, including new drywall all around, new laminate wood flooring throughout, new and improved lighting, and new whatever else needs replacing to create a picture-perfect bare space for Rodeheaver and his crew to make their new-era, literary-loving, alternate- reality magic.
“Our goal is not just to have an interesting museum, but a place that people leave here and say, ‘Oh my God, wasn’t that cool? I’ve got to tell some people and come back,’” Benjamin said. “And we think based on what we’ve got planned, that’s what we’ll accomplish.”